Operation: Save the Tree
by Alfawolf15
Summary: A 'real' Christmas tree fresh chopped from the woods of Konoha horrifies two brothers.


A/U: Just a quick little oneshot. :D

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><p><strong>Operation Save the Tree<strong>

"What's that noise? It's driving me crazy!" four-year-old Sasuke complained to Itachi. "It's like a THUNK. THUNK. THUNK. It's not normal!"

"Hn. I don't know, otouto, but it is not usually a sound in Konoha's forests," the young jounin replied somewhat absently, wrinkling his nose at the thick layer of snow the pair were trekking through.

"Hey, let's go see!" declared the younger, and let go of Itachi's hand to run towards the noise. He was caught around the waist by a strong arm.

"Don't rush into things, otouto," Itachi admonished, letting go of Sasuke. "Use stealth. Cunning. The shadows are your friends." His eyes darkened slightly.

Sasuke pouted. "Okay, okay, nii-san. I know. It will be my undoing." The pair had been walking along the north trail out of Konoha, but now, the younger of the two ravens crept through the trees towards the sound with the older following with silent steps.

Presently, Sasuke dove into the bushes with a slight rustle near a clearing. Itachi slipped up behind him, and together, the pair watched a slightly overweight man in civilian clothes repeatedly swing an axe at the base of a small 'evergreen' tree. It was a young tree, all green and not six feet tall, and the man was cutting. it. down. Itachi's eyes narrowed. Konoha's forests were protected, considering many of them were there because of the Shodaime Hokage Senju Hashirama's work, or were descendants of the trees he'd grown when he made the original forests.

Having finished, the man hauled the tree onto a small sled nearby and strapped it down, losing quite a pile of needles in the process. The man began dragging the sled and tree through the snow and off through the forest.

Sasuke met Itachi's eyes fiercely as soon as the man was out of earshot. "We have to save that tree!" he whispered. Itachi nodded in agreement, and the two set off to commence Operation Save the Tree.

Forty-eight year old Okinamori Daiki trudged through the snow-covered forest and down the hill towards his house, dragging his family's newly acquired Christmas tree. His wife, Matsu, had been nagging him for years to get a 'real tree this year' for as long as he could remember, and finally, he did, but with some apprehension. His neighbors had warned him not to take trees from this forest for as long as he had remembered, but he'd brushed it off as superstition.

Suddenly, Daiki heard an ominous creaking from the branches directly above him. Panicked, he leaped and skidded jerking his tree out of the way as a massive load of snow dumped down exactly where he'd just been standing. He glanced into the tree and thought he saw a flash of blue and black, but wasn't quite sure. He shivered a little from cold and more than a small amount of nervousness before continuing on his way.

Daiki snapped his eyes up at the sound of a low rumble, and they widened at the sight of an extremely large and rotting log hurtled down right at him. He yelped, ducking under the sled. The log hit the edge and sprang into the air, right over his head. Abandoning all shreds of tiredness, the man bolted for home, which was less than five hundred meters away. The sled bounced and tumbled behind him, and seemed to be doing its best to hit every rock in its path. Finally, Daiki thundered into the clearing of his house, panting.

He straightened with a grin of triumph and untied the tree, which was still in fairly good shape. He trudged to the side of the house, where a wooden base in the shape of an X leaned against the wall, as well as a hammer and some nails.

"He's crucifying it!" gasped Sasuke in horrified dismay as the two Uchiha watched him hammer the wood to the base of the tree. "Quick, initiate Plan D!" he cried, and Itachi vanished from his side.

Daiki looked up from his work into a pair of blood red eyes and knew nothing more until his wife Matsu came out and screamed at him for sleeping outside.

Itachi panted as he sprinted with the tree up the hill. "Go, aniki!" he heard Sasuke cheer as he caught up. He reached the path, and his otouto followed as he headed into the woodland triangle at the second intersection of the north road. He set the tree down gently and yanked the nails and wood cross from where the roots should have been. A successive Doton and Suiton later, the tree was firmly in the ground with a chance at a happier life.

Itachi smiled a little. "Operation Save a Tree: success."

Twenty minutes later, the citizens of Konohagakure gaped at the Uchiha prodigy walking through the village covered in pine needles.

Meanwhile, Okinamori Daiki stumped to the shed to retrieve the fake Christmas tree. He was never taking another tree from those forests. Ever. Again.


End file.
